Current projects
Eras in the mill
What’s your story?
Theatre in the Mill turns 50! Join us in celebrating this small arts venue, based on the campus of Bradford University, by sharing your memories of how the theatre impacted your creative journey.
Unspun Stories
Discover Bradford’s Textile Heritage
Explore Bradford’s late 20th-century textile industry with Unspun Stories, an immersive digital installation blending archive film footage, projections, and audio recordings from textile workers of the 1970’s onwards.
Lost Mills and Ghost Mansions
50 years of textile stories
Explore the people, places and stories of Bradford’s textile history from the 1970s onwards through audio recordings, personal quotes, archival media and contextual information in our free online resource.
Past Projects
Life Class
2025
A music-theatre show exploring the ageing body and the person within. Commissioned by Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, Life Class featured a Community Chorus, digital projections, live musicians and a full cast over the age of 60 showing off their best bits!
Wordsmithery
2023
Wordsmithery is a new writing competition developed by 509 Arts with Kala Sangam, Bradford Producing Hub and Mind the Gap. The competition was designed for Bradfordians aged 16+ wanting to write for live performance and included a final showcase.
Broken Biscuits
2022
A tale of what happens when we die. Narrated by Irna Qureshi and illustrated by Sandra McCracken, Broken Biscuits tells of a funny, moving and accessible world where the search for truth about life after death is told through biscuits…
On Reflection
2022
On Reflection explored the relationship between things remembered, the passage of time and events that have shaped the world we live in. It was an interactive installation that evolved as visitors added their unique contributions during each iteration. Find out more…
Staying Alive
2022
Staying Alive was at Theatre in the Mill, Bradford in May 2023. Alan Dix and Professor Anne Graham, from Bradford University, explored the science and art of staying alive.
Meal One
2022
Adapted from a children’s book by Ivor Cutler, a magical family show filled with music, songs, dance, breathtaking projections and augmented reality surprises. Coproduced with Hull Truck Theatre, supported by Mind The Gap.
Bradford Revealed
2021
Bradford Revealed is an online gallery of the special objects, places and things that make our lives different. Every one of pictures has been submitted by people with a connection to Bradford.
This Ole Heart
2020
How does the heart impact on the creative process? Professor Ann Graham, a molecular biologist, and Alan Dix, artist and theatre-maker might have the answer. They also explored rewilding Britain’s uplands.
Hardcastle Ways
2020
A partnership project with The National Trust at Hardcastle Crags where we are associate artists. In Autumn 2020 we worked together to stage Footfall, a processional dusk walk and woodland ceremony (with yodelling). In 2021 we told the 20th century story of a valley saved from drowning. Find out more…
The Batley Variations
2019
Acommunity opera set in a spectacular cabaret environment, that told the inside story of a Northern town. A showcase of local talent, it drew from a rich palette: local heroes and eccentrics, the famous and infamous, the unassuming and extraordinary, iconic spaces and hidden places. Find out more…
ElderPower:Decade
2018-28
In 2018, 509 Arts’ Artistic Director Alan Dix was 70 and his ten year journey to 80 had just begun. This was the starting point for a commission from Theatre in the Mill to explore the ageing process and the many changes that the 70-80 decade can involve.
Transitions
2018-19
Transitions was a year long programme of workshops, discussions and mentoring aimed at developing the creative capacity of the Calder Valley. A legacy of 509 Arts’ 2017 project Landline & Watermarks, it supported arts organisations, artists and people working with the communities of Calderdale. Find out more…
Megaphone
2018
It’s a small world.
What do we do when no-one is listening? When you are forgotten, unheard and drowned out?
Join the small world demonstration! Make yourself heard!
Landlines & Watermarks
2017
A valley-wide creative response to the devastating Calderdale floods of Boxing Day 2015 and the extraordinary community responses that followed. Commissioned by Calderdale Council and the CFC, it included Calderland – winner of a 2018 Royal Philharmonic Society Award. Find out more…
Sing & Louder Sing
2016
A music theatre piece and a book about men, ageing and mortality. It was commissioned by Bradford University and Theatre in the Mill, as part of their celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the University.
Coming of age
2015
Bike Story
2014
A major commission of the 2014 Yorkshire Festival. Inspired by stories from the public, the production celebrated our love affair with the bicycle and toured to 13 outdoor locations across Yorkshire ahead of the Grand Depart of the Tour de France. Find out more...
My Last Car
2011-12
An epic road trip that looked at our complex relationship with the car through a series of poignant, funny and uplifting tales. Our voyage was part exhibition, part live performance and part community celebration. It explored all that the car means to us at the end of a great transport era. Find out more…